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Breadcrumb

Ali S. Argon

The title of this book is derived from a graduate course in which Professor Egon Orowan presented to M.I.T. students a clear and simple picture of the basic concepts in crystal plasticity and the mechanics of fracture of materials. Since the publication of his pioneering papers on dislocations and atomic mechanisms of fracture in the early 1930's, Professor Orowan has been one of the principal contributors to the field of physics of plasticity and strength. During the past 10 to 15 years, the perfection of many direct experimental methods has caused a great increase of activity in the elucidation of the effects of dislocations on mechanical and physical properties. Equally intensive activity is taking place in the field of physics and mechanics of fracture processes. Professor Ali Argon felt that the retirement of Professor Orowan from the M.I.T. faculty was an appropriate occasion to take stock of the developments in the immediate past and to produce a needed synthesis of this technologically important field. For this purpose he invited 37 of the world's leading figures in the field to contribute theoretical papers of original work. The 17 papers on the Physics of Plasticity fall into two categories: (1) Individual Dislocations and Basic Deformation Mechanisms, and (2) Hardening Mechanisms and Dislocation Dynamics. The 10 papers on the Physics of Strength concentrate on (1) Cracks and Fracture, and (2) Geology.

Contributor

"Nature designs everything from atoms; hence, we should be able to create any feasible kind of material and device with foresight, if we understood the Periodic System in all its implications. Yet—like weather forecasters—we find ourselves still members of the gambling profession." This was the tenor of the third summer session on modern materials research sponsored by the Laboratory for Insulation Research at MIT in 1963. Its program—organized by Arthur R. von Hippel, Institute Professor and one of the pioneers of modern materials research—ranged from the electronic structure of atoms and molecules to the design patterns and operating mechanisms of living systems. The participants came from a gamut of professions and the course seemed threatened by a confusion of tongues; instead, the two weeks of learning and debating proved so full of interest and enjoyment that the majority of the lecturers voted for a joint publication of their contributions. Thus this volume on The Molecular Designing of Materials and Devices joins its three predecessors (Dielectrics and Waves, Dielectric Materials and Applications, and Molecular Science and Molecular Engineering), already established as classics in their fields.

This volume advances its theme in three stages: from the architecture of materials to the properties produced by structures and compositions and to the devices employing such properties with increasing sophistication. Since this vast panorama is conjured by twenty-five experts with highly individual outlooks, an extensive sruvey traces the problems and thoughts that connect chapter to chapter. The text is supported by a great number of illustrations, and a comprehensive index gives additional unity and long-range usefulness to the presentation.